What Could Be Better: The Exiles
by SoapiestAuto780
Summary: Do you remember the exiles? They were a team that was exiled from Beacon Academy long ago. To seal it off, they were cursed so that anyone that got near them tried to kill them. But it's been years since then. Now no one remembers them... This is their story. This is a side story to What Could Be Better and does take place during the main story.
1. Chapter 1

****A/N: This is what I spent a year away doing. Planning for this.  
****

 ** **Everything that's a part of this story is a part of the main story as well, just another angle.****

 ** **Hope you enjoy.****

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

 _I suppose I should start with why I am recording this as if we have died. That's because in a few minutes, we will have. They finally found us. Right now it's just Andy and I left and he's sworn to protect me until the end. Something that we won't have to wait too much longer for._

 _It's a shame, really, that we lost our lives so young; yet if you asked any one of us, I think you'd find that we were all content and satisfied. I for one know that I died with no regrets._

 _While it saddens me to say it, I do not know for certain that any of our efforts made a difference in this fight. I just pray that, in the end, we were able to be of some use to you all._

 _The time that we knew you was short and our meetings were few and far between, but I know that you loved us like a family; I know that's how we viewed you guys._

 _I know we said that we would help you till the end_ _, but it looks like we won't be able to hold up our end of the bargain. This is where our journey ends._

 _I just watched Andy die on one of the feeds. It's only me now._

 _I know you remember the day we first met in that forest surrounded by Grimm. You were supposed to hunt and kill the exiles, us; instead you offered us a chance to live. That was the day we vowed to support you guys however we could from the shadows. I now know that we held true to that portion of the bargain._

 _We, even through all the craziness, managed to avoid the spotlight, however, as I am recording this the light is becoming ever brighter; soon even my shadow will no longer have a place to hide._

 _I don't know how long you can avoid war but when it comes, be sure to take care of RWBY, DUSC, SLVR, and the rest of them._

 _It seems that that light has finally become bright enough for even me to be found; however, it seems that my killers are kind enough to let me finish this._

 _Since you were the only person who was able to ever meet us in person without going insane from our curse, I would like to ask you a favor Soap._

 _Before you yourself expire, I ask that you make our story known to the ones we protected for so long._

 _Attached to this file is a detailed copy of our adventures since the day we met you. I am attaching these files to make sure that you don't forget any detail of our story, though I have a feeling that you know this story well._

 _After all, it's a story you helped make. It's the story of the forgotten team and their fight against the night._

 _Thank you Soap._

 _Signed,_

 _Daliah Black of team DA-_

 _Computer, after sending this file, set the self-destruct timer to 5 seconds._

 _Alright, I'm finished._

* * *

 **~Soap**

After she finished talking, a gunshot could be heard on the other end of the recording.

I cried for a little after receiving Daliah's message, but once I was able to recompose myself I called everybody to the sanctuary.

"Hey Soap."

"Hey guys." I said.

"Whatcha need? We're supposed to be getting ready for the next mission a few days from now and I have a lot of weapon maintenance to do." Ruby said.

"That can wait." I said. "This is more important."

"What is?" Weiss asked.

I sighed before I began.

"Sit down guys. We are going to be here for a while. A long time ago, an unnamed team was exiled from Beacon academy...

* * *

 ** **A/N: First things first. This will not be a regular thing. While I have planned a year ahead, I still want to space these chapters out quite a bit.****

 **Things that will differ from the main story:**

 **Chapters will not be named, at least not yet.**

 **I will not be telling you where everything happens in this timeline compared to the main story.**

 **For now, this fic will be rated T until it needs to be changed for any reason.**

 **These chapters will not be as long.**

 **And, the most obvious, this will not be told from the view point of Soap, Sarah, Blake, or Sam.**

 **Other than that, everything will be the same.**

 **Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**This came together a lot quicker than I thought it would.**

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

" _Who were these guys?" Ruby asked Soap._

" _To put it simply, they were a team that had been exiled from society more than 30 years ago because of a crime that they committed. Something that, for now, I don't want to tell you about."_

" _A team?" Weiss said questioningly. "A team of what?"_

" _Huntsmen and Huntresses. Though you won't be able to find any record of them even if I gave you their names."_

" _Why's that?" Yang asked._

" _That's because any and all records of them were erased when their incident happened."_

" _What school were they from?"_

" _They were a team that was comprised of a member from each of the schools; one from every kingdom. Each member specialized in stealth and recon; something they found to be rather useful once they were exiled."_

" _Didn't you say earlier that they were from Beacon though?" Blake asked._

" _I did, but that was just to get this story started."_

 _They sat in silence for a while before Ruby asked the question on everyone's minds. "Why are these guys so important Soapie?"_

" _Because, they... How about I start from where I met these guys? Once this story is over we will be going to retrieve any last data from their hideout and to give them a proper burial; during that mission, you can decide for yourself why they are so important."_

* * *

"God I miss hot food." The giant of a man said next to me.

"There he goes again. Talking about food while all of us are starving." The male faunus said next to me.

"Why do you guys have to be so loud when we move from base to base?" I heard a female voice behind me say.

"Shhh. We're getting close to where we need to be. Also quite talking about food." I said, peering through the bushes.

The three behind me shut up and quietly fell into line.

"Hey Daliah?" The female voice behind me asked.

"Yeah Rachel?" I said.

"Where exactly are we going again?" She asked.

"Some place safe, hopefully." I said.

"Are we going to another one of those old military bases?" The giant man beside me asked disapprovingly.

"Hey, watch your mouth Andy! Those military bases you speak of are a part of history. They have been around for hundreds of years. Be happy that we ran into one 15 years ago." The faunus said to Andy.

"Dude, chill out would ya? I get that you're from the Atlas Military School, but you aren't Military anymore Kevin. You haven't been for 20 years." Andy said to the faunus.

"Thanks to the fact that the power was still somehow on in the Lima base that we found, we have a map of places to stay for as long as we have to." I said. "We're headed to the Delta base now."

We continued to travel till we came to a small clearing in the woods. "Let's rest here for a little bit before we continue." I said. "Rachel, you take watch."

"Roger." The other female of the group responded.

We rested for 20 minutes before my faunus senses picked up on the sounds of Grimm closing in on us, but they were still a little ways out. "Five minutes." I said.

Before the others even had a chance to respond, a multitude of gunshots could be heard along with the sounds of Grimm fighting back.

Instantly everybody was on their feet with their weapons in hand.

"Heavily modified Fifty cal. desert eagle." Kevin said. " Sounds really close."

After a minute passed, I looked over the blade of my broadsword turned rifle then back to the woods around us.

"Think they're gone?" Kevin asked.

As soon as he finished asking, a group of mercenaries ran out of the woods and into the clearing.

Each one had their weapons drawn and all of their eyes were completely white.

"Dammit! The curse has them!" I yelled as I lunged forward, thrusting my blade into the nearest mercenary.

In the blink of an eye, the mercenaries were dead.

As I sat down against a tree a new figure walked into the clearing.

 _What the hell? I didn't sense him until he walked into the clearing._

"Well you guys sure made a mess of things." The newcomer said leaning over one of the mercenaries. "This is why I said to stay back and let me investigate the area. But no, you guys just wanted to take all the glory for yourselves."

Instantly, I was back on my feet and pointed my weapon at him.

He was about 5'7", had pure white hair with a black and red streak in it, and a very scared face. At his waist were two sheathed katannas and an empty gun holster; after a quick look, I found the missing gun in his hand. He looked no older than 18.

As he turned his attention to us, I could see that he didn't have any sign of the curse. I relaxed when I saw this.

"For whatever reason, you aren't being affected by the curse." I said, putting away my weapon. "Why?"

The man shrugged. "Since I was little, a lot of weird, unexplained things have happened to me."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Call me Soap." He said. "You don't happen to be the ones causing all the trouble around my base are you?"

"More than likely." I said. "Grimm tend to be attracted to us without us even trying."

"Then that makes you the exiled team from 30 years ago." Soap said.

"How do you know who we are?"

"As the most infamous bounty hunter in Vale, I have access to a lot of classified information." He said.

"Are you here to take us away?" Rachel asked.

"Well, yes. That's what I supposed to be doing." He said.

Slowly, everybody's heads lowered in shame. "I guess it's about time we turn ourselves in."

"I have a better idea."

We all looked up at him quizzically.

"Instead of me turning you in, why don't you come work for me? I offer warm food, a warm bed, and access to tools and information you wouldn't otherwise have." He said.

"You know who we are, right?" Kevin asked.

"You are team DARK. A team put together by the four kingdoms to carry out a top secret mission. A team led by Daliah Black." He said, pointing at me.

"If you know who we are then why even bother asking? We can't come near normal people because of our curse." Kevin responded.

"Because what I have in mind is anything but a normal contract."

* * *

After a few minutes of explaining the why, he had me convinced.

"So you need someone to look after high priority contracts while you are busy elsewhere in the world?"

"That's a very simple way of putting it, but that sounds about right."

"I'm ok with this if you guys are." I said to my team.

They all nodded their heads.

He walked up to me and stretched out his gloved hand.

I just looked at him confused.

"I know it's been 30 years, but you should remember how to seal a contract."

When he said that, a bell rung in my head. I got up and reached to grab his hand.

"Oh, one more thing. Once you accept this contract, you will be bound to it till the day you die." He said as his hand started to glow red and orange with flames.

I shook my head. "That's fine." I said as I took his hand flaring my own semblance as I did.

Each of us shook his hand, flaring our semblances as we did.

"Alright then. Let's start by getting out of this forest. I'll let my team know to stay on the upper floors of the base." He said, loading a fresh clip of ice bullets into his gun.

* * *

 **A/N: Am I doing this right? Is this how you are normally supposed to start a story?**

 **(I know what I'm doing, I've just never tried doing a story like this, in this style)**

 **Oh, one more thing that I forget to mention in the first chapter. There will be no character sheet for this one, you are going to have to figure out the character's appearances as we go.**

 **Have fun.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I've got two things that I want to say/ask.**

 **One: I apologize if it seems like I've been focusing on this story a little more than the main story; I suck at everyday life stuff especially when it comes to characters that I didn't create, so as much as I hate to say it, I think I'll be focusing on this one for a little while.**

 **Two: How are you guys liking this side of the story so far?**

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

We waited in a large room that I could only imagine was a military barracks in the past, but the destruction of everything except the chairs we were sitting in made it nearly impossible for me to tell.

"Remind me again why we are waiting here." The impatient faunus said next to me.

"Right now we are waiting for our new employer to return after he told us to wait here for him." I said condescendingly.

"I got that part; but what specifically are we waiting for?" The male faunus asked annoyed.

"Well, I would imagine that Soap is doing something about our food issue." I said.

"That would be a fair assessment." Soap said as he entered the room holding four plates of food.

* * *

I noticed it when we first met him in the snowy forest and again when he walked into the room just now. He was completely silent and nearly undetectable until he was within striking distance.

He also had far superior hearing than any normal human; hearing that would likely rival a faunus.

I would have to reflect on this more when I had some time.

* * *

After he handed us our food, he placed a small device on the floor in the center of the room.

"What's that?" Rachel asked him after she saw the curious look I was likely making on my face. My team knew very well that I had a weakness for cool tech.

"Just a little something I put together a few minutes ago since I don't have one of these here." He said, continuing to fiddle with the device. After a moment he stopped. "There, that should work. Sarah, can you hear me?" Soap asked to seemingly no one.

"Yes though I can't see anything. I think that's a problem on your end." A female voice said from the device.

Rachel and Kevin both jumped out of their seats when they heard the voice. Andy didn't move; knowing him, he was probably too focused on his food to care.

"Now why on Remnant would assume that the problem is on my end?" Soap asked the voice. "

"Probably because you didn't let me make my own machine and because you left the camera lense up here." The voice said, slightly irritated.

Judging by the tone the person on the other end was using while she was irritated at Soap, this person was very close to him; either a childhood friend, a sibling, or a lover.

"Hmm. I'm not seeing you either. Let me try... Got it!" He exclaimed as a loud electric buzz was heard and a holographic figure appeared above the device.

"What the living hell?" I heard Andy quietly mutter to himself in between bites.

The holographic figure being projected was a strong looking woman no older than 18 and pretty tall compared to my 4 foot 6 height. The rest of her features were covered by the hood she was wearing with the exception of two white and light pink cat ears peeking through two holes in the top of her hood, seemingly cut for the purpose of allowing them to do so.

"Well, now we can see you at least. You can take your hood off Sarah; these guys shouldn't attack us." Soap said a little discontent that his machine wasn't working correctly. (I feel now is an appropriate time to mention that I am an empath and am very good at guessing others emotions and the reason for them.) **(A/N: Main story reasons. Reasons that you will have to wait for.)**

"Ok." She said as she took off her hood.

Her lowered hood revealed a dark and mysterious face with light blond hair sporting a streak of black and red on her right. From my angle alone I counted 15 separate scars. " _Where have I seen that face before?_ " I thought to myself before it finally clicked in my mind.

I was looking at the infamous mercenary Sarah "Hearts" Kirtsov.

My team tensed at the sight of me furrowing my brow and hardening my face; it seems Soap also took notice.

"You guys can relax. She's not going to attack you." Soap said, facepalming.

"Why should we trust a mercenary? Especially one as dangerous as Sarah Kirtsov?" Rachel asked hostilely, shoving the flat of her blade into Soap's neck.

"Because the infamous mercenary you are looking at is my girlfriend. Not to mention that she retired from that lifestyle a while ago. We are bounty hunters and Instructors at Beacon." Soap said calmly. "Also, my team and I don't take bounties on innocent people."

"That would be correct; I stopped being a mercenary when one of my former employers tried to get rid of a few loose ends. That was over 2 years ago, just after I turned 16." Sarah said sincerely into the holocamera on her end.

I sensed no hostile intent in either of their words but I had a feeling I would be cautious when talking to Sarah for a long time. Something I found to be beneficial in the distant future.

Slowly I lowered my silenced PPSH/broadsword away from Soap's head and signaled for the others to do the same.

"I told you they would do that. I want my 20 lien." Sarah said triumphantly.

"Fine." Soap said pulling out his scroll. "There, you have your money."

* * *

We made idle conversation while my team and I ate. After we finished eating, I spoke up, "Other than introducing us to Sarah, why did you want us here?"

"Well, I wanted you to meet the other three members of my team, but since the camera on this end doesn't work there's no point. I'll be up in a bit Sarah." Soap said, turning off the holoprojector.

"Alright. See you in a bit." She said before it shut off completely.

"For now, why don't you guys get some long deserved rest. Feel free to explore the base as you see fit just don't go up more than 20 floors while we are here."

"Might I ask why?" Rachel asked.

"While I may be immune to the cruse that you hold, that doesn't mean that the rest of my team is. Sarah maybe, but that's not something I want to test right now." Soap said. "We will be leaving in two days time and then you can explore to your heart's content. I've already added my own and Sarah's contact information to your scrolls so contact either of us if you have any questions."

"How did you-" Kevin started to ask.

"How did I do that without touching your scrolls? Among other things, I am also a hacker. While I am here, do you have any specific questions about the floors you can explore?" Soap asked.

Andy was the first to speak and we knew exactly what he was going to ask about. "Where do we go for food?"

"Two floors down there is a secondary mess hall and kitchen that will be freshly stocked with food every three days via some autonomous delivery androids Sarah and I designed together." He answered. "Anything else?"

Kevin spoke next, "Is there anywhere in the base where we can repair and modify our weapons?"

"Judging by your early Atlas military uniform, I assume that you are specifically looking for an armory and firing range, am I correct?"

"You got all that from his clothes?" Rachel asked amazed.

"Yep." Soap responded. "Well?"

"That would be correct." Kevin answered.

"There are three fully stocked firing ranges throughout the base although I am only able to tell you about two of them. One is right above us and the other is on the floor where I am staying. Located near each armory is a fully functional forge, metal shop, and modification and repair bay. On the bottom floor is a fully outfitted garage and hangar and the last I checked there should be a few run down classic cars and bullheads. I have no idea where the third firing range is." Soap finished.

I spoke next, "As I am sure you are aware, but I used to be a journalist for the Vale Daily Inquisitor and would like to still be informed of the going ons of the world; is there anywhere in the base I might be able to continue my work?"

"The command center by where I am staying is a state of the art center for gathering information but it's all technology that Sarah and I designed so it might be a little difficult to use. The secondary command center right below us is in a state of disrepair but might be a little easier for you to use. Anything else?"

We all shook our heads no.

"Of course there are a few other things here that I didn't list such a pharmaceutical lab, four state of the art training rooms, a holo simulation room, and many others." Soap said.

We didn't say anything so he continued.

"One more thing I will say about the floors you can explore right now is that they are not exactly in the best condition; you will need to clean them up and fix a few things. A good example is the hole in the wall behind you. At the very least, I don't think you will be bored here. If you need anything specific that isn't here, just let me know and I can get it for you." Soap said turning to leave.

"Anything?" Rachel asked.

"Yep. It doesn't matter the price, just don't run me dry."

We all stood there, still processing what we had just heard.

"I will let you all know when I have any information or jobs for you. Enjoy your stay." Soap said as he became engulfed in flames and disappeared.

* * *

There were many vibes that I got from Soap and Sarah. The ones that stood out to me were that they were insane and that they cared very much for their friends and their family of misfits; something we were proud to be a small part of and protect until the end.

In time, we would find that protecting this family would, in a way, become our salvation.

Had we known then that Soap would come to ask us to fight on our own a war against the night and the darkness it held, I think that we might have spent a little more time preparing.

* * *

 **A/N: Let me explain something real quick.**

 **The events of this story are things that Daliah Black and her team wrote down while they were alive; something that Daliah encouraged her team to do after they met Soap. With that said, she is about as thoughtful and observant as Blake so she took in and wrote down as much information as she could.**

 **One more thing that I want to mention: Daliah is just as knowledgeable as Sarah when it comes to technology; also, while she is not as smart or intelligent as Soap or Sarah, she is able to read a situation quickly and react appropriately.**


	4. Chapter 4

.

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

A few days had passed since Soap and his team, which we found out was named BNTY for some reason, had left Delta Base.

Much to both our dismay and our glee, we found that he wasn't wrong about a few things. There was a LOT of stuff that needed to be done to the base; specifically to make the lower floors of the base livable, so we started with the massive hole in the wall of the room we decided to make our general common room. After that, we would have to fix up the room that would become our barracks.

The idea was that we were all going to sleep in the same room, however, the others had a different idea.

"Since this place is so flipping huge, are you sure that we shouldn't just get our own rooms?" Rachel asked as we finished covering the hole with a final layer of plaster.

"I'm sure. I mean, we've all been sleeping in the same room for the past 30 years." I said.

"Ok, fine. But I still think that you should at least get your own room." Rachel said.

From across the room I could hear the guys agree with her.

"Why's that?" I asked, honestly confused.

"Well, I mean you are our team leader and now that we actually have the ability and means to follow proper protocol, why shouldn't we?" I heard our resident military man say from across the room.

Andy and Rachel agreed.

I sighed in disbelief as I sat down for the first time in a few hours, my tiny frame thanking me when I did.

"Well, you aren't wrong..." I started to say as I wiped the sweat from my brow.

Just then, the bull faunus chimed in. "Right now it's the best way we can say 'thank you' for saving our lives nearly 30 years ago."

The others, again, agreed in chorus.

"Alright, fine." I said defeated. Suddenly a light bulb went off in my head. "On one condition." I said, smiling deviously.

"Sure, anything for you Daliah." Andy said from somewhere behind me.

"I will accept your thank you on the condition that as long as we are under Soap's contract, you all will write down everything that happens and has happened until we die." I said with a smirk.

The others were silent for a moment while they processed what I had said.

"WHAT?!" I heard them scream at me a minute later.

"Why?!" Andy half asked, half screamed.

"Why not?" I responded.

"Well, there's the fact that someone could find what we write and track us down. Also there's the fact that I suck at writing." Andy said.

"Not all of us were journalists and aspiring novelists like you Daliah." Kevin said trying to reason with me.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn't going to back off easily. "Ok. Fair point but think about it, if we survive this contract, and even if we don't, this will be something that people will be able to read and talk about." They went quiet when I said that.

I knew better than anyone that each of us had a piece of us that wanted to be known. We all had the desire to let the public know what happened all those years ago and that we were still alive.

"You know that I still wish to let our superiors know what happened. If you do this, then we might be able to do just that." I said.

"Daliah, do even know if any of them are still alive?" Rachel asked.

"I know for certain that the King of Vale is still alive. I have no idea about your superiors though." I responded. "Why don't you ask Soap to see if they are?"

"Yeah, I guess we could do that." Kevin said. After a little more thought, he agreed. "I'll agree to your b.s. condition."

"Andy?"

"Sure, why the hell not?" He responded.

"Rachel?"

"I'll agree on one condition."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I get to pick which room you get and decorate it." She said almost certain that I wouldn't agree to her condition.

I shuddered at the thought of Rachel having complete control over what would be in my room. Back when were still hunters in training, she supposedly had the most bizarre looking room in all of her school and if I agreed, I would be letting that same person decorate my room without a budget. It would take a bit of getting used to but I think I would be able to do it so I agreed.

"Alright deal." I said confidently.

Without so much as a second's hesitation, Rachel took off down the hall.

As I watched her open door after door trying to decide which one would be mine, I heard Kevin speak behind me, "You do realize that you just unleashed a beast, right?"

"Yep and I'm somehow ok with that." I said turning around to catch a glimpse of Kevin trying to sneak off. I grabbed him just before he got away.

"Oh no. You and Andy are coming with me. You two are going to learn the basics of how to write a novel." I said as I dragged the two of them to the library.

"You never said that we would have to novelize our everyday life, just that we would have to write it down." Andy said now horrified.

"Yeah, but that's what I meant."

* * *

 **~Kevin**

I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just writing to write at this point. I don't know how to write at all, much less a novel! What the hell was Daliah thinking?

Oh well, I can't refuse an order from our fearless leader. I suppose I should start with who I am.

My name is Kevin Green. I am a part of team DARK put together by the four kingdoms to address a threat from outside the walls of the kingdoms.

I am 5'11" and am currently 58 years old although I look like I'm 28.

My eyes are emerald green and my hair is black in the style of a sloppy buzzcut. It's sloppy because before now I was only able to cut it with Daliah's sword every other month.

I am a rare faunus type known as the bull faunus. I was military trained by early Atlas leadership and still have the old outfit to prove it.

Our leader is a bit odd.

Her name is Daliah Black and is 55 years old but she looks like a 15 year old schoolgirl. She has a very tiny bust and is 4'3".

Her eyes are hazel green and her hair is black, shoulder length, and wavy.

She's a faunus like me.

I could go on about her but I think she'd kill me if put anymore to paper.

She said that we're supposed to be writing what we do on a day to day basis. Something that she said should only take about 30 minutes a day.

Alright, let's give this a shot.

Today was our third day here at Delta base and our third day under contract with Soap.

That guy and his team are weird. They're bounty hunters but their skill is something I can only compare to veteran hunters but I'm getting off topic.

Today we repaired the vehicle bay, the kitchen, and our common room. By late tonight we should have the barracks fixed up.

I guess that's all that we really did today so I'll pick this back up tomorrow.

* * *

 _"Daliah, is this enough? I wrote about who I am and what we did today."_

 _"Yeah. That should be good. You can go now."_

 _"Oh thank god!"_

* * *

 **~Daliah**

Now is a good time to mention that I won't be including every perspective from every single day; just what I consider important.

I should probably stop now and get to sleep soon; Soap wants to see us run a mission for him soon so that he can judge our skills which means preparation time.

I say that, but I honestly have no idea what he has in store for us; I guess we shall see.

* * *

 **A/N: This will be be the last of these for a bit. I'm going to be focusing on the main story again.**

 **Let me know what you guys think.**


End file.
